Preparation and Properties of Non-ionic Polyurethane Crosslinkers from 2-Ethoxyethanol/ϵ-caprolactam-Blocked Diisocyanate

Abstract

A series of novel water-based non-ionic blocked polyurethane crosslinker (n-BPUC) dispersions have been synthesized by the reaction of toluene 2,4-diisocyanate (TDI), isophorone diisocyanate (IPDI), polyethylene glycol (PEG), 1,1,1-trimethylolpropane (TMP), 2-Ethoxyethanol (2-Et) and ϵ-caprolactam (CL). The physical properties of prepared n-BPUC dispersions such as viscosity, pH, and storage stability are measured and compared. The chemical structure of the prepared n-BPUC dispersions is confirmed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and gel permeation chromatography (GPC). Deblocking temperatures of the n-BPUC dispersions are analyzed by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA) techniques. The thermal analysis reveals that deblocking temperature obtained by DSC and TGA techniques is compared and found to be in the order DSC < TGA. Based on DSC and TGA data, it is shown that deblocking of n-BPUC dispersions based on 2-Et start at lower temperatures compared to that of the ones based on CL. The TDI-based n-BPUCs show higher reactivity than the ones based on IPDI. Hydroxyl-terminated polyurethane (HPU) is introduced to estimate the crosslinking effect of the prepared n-BPUCs. The better tensile properties and water resistance of n-BPUC modified HPU films compared to pure HPU film demonstrate the good crosslinking effect of the prepared n-BPUCs.